Into the Rain
by stella-pegasi
Summary: Sheppard and Woolsey attend a Pegasus Coalition Council Meeting, but a contentious meeting is the least of their troubles, someone wants them dead.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Into the Rain**

**Author: **stella_pegasi

**Rating: **K+ Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Friendship

**Word Count: **19,474

**Spoilers: **_The Return I & II, Inquisition_ (Story set after Season Five)

**Warnings:** Whump

**Characters:** John Sheppard, Richard Woolsey, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

**Summary:** Sheppard and Woolsey attend a Pegasus Coalition Council Meeting but a contentious meeting is the least of their troubles, someone wants them dead.

**Notes: **Written as a pinch-hitter for the Easter 2010 Fiction Exchange on sgahcchallenges on LiveJournal. Prompt by x_erikah_x and is located at the end of Chapter Five.

**Into the Rain **

_By stella_pegasi_

**Chapter One Into the Rain**

**INTO THE RAIN**

_By stella_pegasi_

**CHAPTER ONE INTO THE RAIN**

"I'm telling you this is a bad idea."

"Colonel, you have repeatedly made that comment since we left Atlantis. I understand that you think that not bringing half the military contingent with us is a mistake. However, we are an affiliate member of the Pegasus Coalition council and to bring a large military presence is not going to win us any friends. Bringing you with me is probably not going to make them pleased to start with."

"I'm just saying it's a bad idea."

Richard Woolsey took a deep breath, trying to compose himself so that he didn't snap at his second-in-command although he sorely wanted to do so. Colonel John Sheppard, frankly, was getting on his nerves. He was about to make another comment to Sheppard when a familiar face entered the lobby to meet the Atlantians.

"Mr. Woolsey, it is good to see you again." Myrus was the coalition official who first met with Woolsey when the Coalition arrested Sheppard's team and placed them on trial. He extended his hand for the traditional Earther greeting; Woolsey shook his hand, and then turned to introduce Sheppard.

Myrus interrupted him, "No need for introductions, Mr. Woolsey; I assume this is Colonel Sheppard." Sheppard nodded, but did not extend his hand and neither did Myrus. Woolsey realized that he should have brought a large military contingent, and left Colonel Sheppard on Atlantis.

Myrus extended an arm toward the doorway. "Please follow me, I will escort you to the chamber; the council is waiting for you."

The door led to a long, wide corridor lined with windows on one side. They were in Latira City, capital of the planet Latira, and while new construction was underway, the devastation created by the last Wraith attack was still visible. At the end of the corridor, there were large double-doors guarded by two Coalition sentries. As they approached, the sentries opened the doors, and Myrus stepped aside to allow the Atlantians to enter.

Woolsey immediately began to scan the room, an old habit from his days with the IOA. He had never been comfortable not knowing what was surrounding him. The nine-members of the Coalition Council, which included the three members he and SGA-1 had encountered before, were seated on an elevated dais, at bench of highly polished burgundy-brown wood. Behind them, numerous aides and sentries scurried back and forth between the offices located through the doors behind them, and the council members. Woolsey laughed to himself; bureaucrats were bureaucrats no matter what planet they were on.

As he continued around the room, Woolsey stopped as he spotted someone he was not entirely expecting to see. He looked quickly at Colonel Sheppard and realized that the colonel's radar must have picked the Genii up as soon they entered the room. Sheppard was staring at the Genii leader, Ladon Radim, who was smiling broadly at the colonel. Radim's retinue consisted of two aides, sitting next to him, and ten Genii soldiers, who were standing along the far wall.

Leaning closer to Sheppard, Woolsey whispered, "Next time, we bring Marines."

Before Sheppard could answer, the gavel sounded and the Council Chair, Dimas of the Free People of Rimas spoke. "Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard of Atlantis, welcome to the Pegasus Coalition Council. Our friends from Atlantis are always welcome."

Woolsey replied, "On behalf of the colonel and myself, thank you, Mr. Chairman."

As he and Sheppard started to take their seats, a familiar voice spoke, "It is nice that you finally decided to arrive, we have been waiting for you." The voice belonged to is Shiana of the Tribes of Santhal. From the bitterness in her voice, she had apparently not changed her opinion of the Atlantians since she declared them guilty of crimes against the worlds of Pegasus. Her venomous glare was reserved for Colonel Sheppard.

Sheppard leaned close to Woolsey, "Yeah…I might have been right about the Marines, but you were right that I probably should have stayed on Atlantis."

Woolsey glanced at Sheppard, "No, colonel, with the Genii here there is nowhere I would rather see you at the moment than right here."

Opening statements by the nine council members consumed the first hour and a half of the session. Next the council spent an hour to discuss matters carried over from the last council meeting. Finally, the council addressed new business, and it was not business that Woolsey or Sheppard had been expecting.

Shiana stood before the podium, "Coalition members, we have very important business in front of us today. As you know, an agreement has been in place with the current residents of Atlantis to provide military assistance to coalition member planets. However, we know that the ancestral city is in the hands of non-Pegasus natives. I and many of my colleagues feel that we should rely on each other more than we rely on the agenda of peoples from other galaxies. We are placing a proposal before the council today that the largest and most organized military in the galaxy, the Genii, begin the task of keeping the Pegasus galaxy safe from its enemies." Neither Sheppard nor Woolsey, nor most others in the council chamber, missed the direct look that Shiana gave to Colonel Sheppard as she concluded her comment and returned to her seat.

Richard Woolsey rose, "The Coalition is well within its rights to determine the agent that oversees security for the Pegasus galaxy and its citizens. We fully acknowledge that fact. In all fairness, Chairman Dimas, Atlantis should be given adequate time to review Shiana's proposal, and any supporting documents that accompany the proposal.

Shiana rose to speak, but Dimas struck his gavel and motioned for her to sit. "Mr. Woolsey, I concur; I believe that your request is more than fair. Shiana, please have your staff turn over all documents pertaining to your proposal to the Atlantians. We will adjourn and reconvene after the mid-day meal." The gavel dropped, and Sheppard watched as Shiana stormed out of the chamber, none too pleased about the turn of events. Glancing over at Radim, he could see that the Genii leader was none too pleased, as well.

As they turned to file out of the hall, Myrus appeared, "Gentlemen, Kelore of Latira would like to see you; if you will follow me." He motioned toward a side door, and Woolsey and Sheppard followed him.

* * *

Kelore met them in his office in the Latiran administration building, adjacent to the coalition assembly hall. As Myrus escorted his guests into the chamber, Kelore looked up from a file that he had been reviewing. He rose to greet the two men from Atlantis.

"Mr. Woolsey, Colonel Sheppard, welcome again to Latira; please have a seat. Thank you, Myrus."

Myrus nodded to the Atlantians and left as an aide entered carrying a tray with a tea pot and cups. The aide served the men and then exited the room.

"My aide will return shortly with the mid-day meal for us; I wanted to be certain that we have adequate time together this afternoon. I would imagine that you have a few questions for me."

Woolsey took a sip of the tea, nodding to Kelore his approval, "Very nice tea; to answer your question, yes, I believe we do have some questions."

Sheppard interjected, "What are the Genii doing here?"

"Colonel, the Genii are members of the coalition, they have every right to be here." When Sheppard started to protest, Kelore continue, "No need to say it colonel, while they have a right, I share your obvious concern about their motives."

Woolsey spoke, "Kelore, you had dealings with the Genii long before the coalition had my people kidnapped and put on trial. However, you are a prudent man and realized that Atlantis could help you more than Genii. You became our ally. I have the feeling that you may have not been as sincere as we thought. At least, until something happened; something that disturbed you about the Genii."

"You are perceptive Mr. Woolsey; yes, the Genii have done something that disturbs me. I believe that they have entered a secret agreement with Shiana's people and others that have settled with them on a new planet. I am not convinced that the Genii are anything more than opportunists."

Sheppard leaned back in his chair, sipped his tea, and Woolsey saw him tap his fingers on the wooden chair arm. He was thinking. "Kelore, Shiana must have formed alliances with some of the council members, do you know who?"

'I have some suspicions, colonel, but nothing concrete. I think that Parca from Afadia and Domine Leis from Marcen are the closest council members to her. She seems to be 'quite friendly' with Woner Yesa from Bladenor. Let's just say, according to my staff, he never brings his wife to the council sessions. However, are any of these council members involved in collusion with her, I have no proof."

Lunch arrived, and they moved to a table in the corner of the office to eat. Myrus delivered Shiana's proposal and they examined the large packet of documents while they ate. They had finished their meal when an aide called Kelore away to attend to an internal matter. Sheppard and Woolsey continued to review the documents after Kelore left.

Sheppard's elbows were leaning on the table; his plate pushed away from him. He was moving some of the documents around with one long finger. "Something doesn't make sense; there's nothing here regarding Atlantis that we haven't already answered. There has to be something else they think they have, but haven't included it with these documents." He thought a second, fingers drumming.

"I am going back to Atlantis and see if we have any intel on these friends of Shiana. If we don't, I'll have Lorne send teams out to these three planets to snoop around."

"Colonel, let them know we are going to stay here tonight. But don't bring any Marine's back with you; I don't want the Genii thinking we're concerned they're here."

Sheppard laughed somewhat sarcastically but nodded, "I agree, Richard; I don't like it, but I agree."

The afternoon session of the council adjourned shortly after reconvening. Chairman Dimas granted Woolsey's request for additional time to review of the documents over Shiana's objections. Kelore arranged accommodations for Sheppard and Woolsey at a guest house near the hall. As the Atlantians left for the guest house, neither man noticed a particularly large man standing in the shadows follow them from the hall.

* * *

Woolsey and Sheppard spent the waning hours of the afternoon and early evening going over the documents trying to uncover the true motive of Shiana and Radim. Woolsey was convinced that Kelore was correct about the Genii. They were opportunists looking for an easy way to weasel into a powerful position. He knew that Sheppard didn't trust the Genii regardless of the fact that they had 'assisted' them on a couple of occasions. That assistance did not make up for the other things that the Genii had done.

They had a late dinner, and Sheppard decided to take a run back to the gate to contact Lorne for an update. When he returned to Atlantis in the early afternoon and spoke with his XO, he discovered that there was virtually no intel on Shiana's circle of friends. Lorne dispatched teams to those planets on bogus survey missions, and the colonel was anxious to find out if they had gleaned any useful information.

Woolsey decided not to accompany Sheppard to speak to Atlantis. He intended to re-read some of the documents and prepare rebuttals to the concerns listed in Shiana's proposal. In his mind, the 'contrived' concerns against Atlantis that Shiana had included.

Engrossed in the reports, Woolsey had totally lost track of time; reaching for his tea cup, he glanced at his watch, and realized nearly two hours had passed since Sheppard left for the gate. He had expected the colonel would stop by his room before retiring to let him know what, if any, new information Atlantis had given him; for Sheppard not to do so was out of character. Woolsey felt uneasiness seep into his body; he needed to check on Sheppard.

* * *

Sheppard's room was directly across the hall from his. He pounded on the door, but there was no answer. Pondering what he should do, Woolsey returned to his room. He picked up one of the rucksacks Sheppard brought back from Atlantis after he returned from his afternoon visit. Rummaging through the pack, he laughed softly, thinking Sheppard must have been a boy scout at one time; the pack contained MRE's, Powerbars, a med kit, a toiletry kit, water bottle, and a 9-mil, holster and extra ammo, even a couple of extra pairs of socks. Yes, a good thing Sheppard was such a boy scout.

The colonel also brought a heavier jacket and a TAC vest for him. Woolsey remembered the grin on the colonel's face when he handed the vest to him. Sheppard said, 'with our track record, you most likely will need this.' There were times when he wished the colonel wasn't quite so prophetic.

Woolsey put the jacket and TAC vest on, slipped the rucksack on, and headed downstairs. He stopped in lobby, checking if anyone had seen Sheppard during the evening. No one had. Woolsey decided to head for the gate and contact Atlantis. There was a chance that Sheppard was still on the base. If not, he would have Lorne send a team to help search. As he left the guesthouse, he wished just once they could go on a mission that went according to plan.

* * *

The trek to the gate was uneventful. It was nearing 2200 hours, and most of the Latiran citizens were in their homes. When he reached the stargate, which sat on the end of a long lane that originated in the center of the capital, there was no sign of Colonel Sheppard. Woolsey was beginning to have an extremely uneasy feeling about what was going on. If Sheppard wasn't on Atlantis, he would bet the Genii knew something about his disappearance. He wanted Marines with him, and he wanted to talk to the Genii.

Woolsey began entering Atlantis' address in the DHD, but half-way through the dialing sequence, the metallic sound of weapon's safely being disengaged caused him to freeze. A ring of cold steel pressed against his temple; a deep, gruff voice spoke quietly, close enough that he could feel his assailant's hot breath on his neck.

"I knew if I waited long enough that you would show up here looking for Sheppard. Now I have you both." The man grabbed Woolsey's arms and wrapped a rope around the director's elbows pinning them to the rucksack, then tied the rope around his chest. The kidnapper gagged Woolsey with a strip of cloth and slipped a cloth hood over his head.

"Now we go join Colonel Sheppard. You'll have a nice little reunion." Grabbing the rope he had tied around Woolsey's chest, the kidnapper roughly pulled the director along behind him. Stumbling on the uneven ground, Woolsey assumed that they were off the paved gate path.

After nearly ten minutes of hiking, Woolsey heard a low-humming noise becoming increasingly louder. The man yanked him to a stop. Woolsey heard an electronic beep and then a swooshing sound, and his kidnapper him pushed up a couple of narrow steps.

"Now be a good boy and don't move around." The kidnapper pushed Woolsey to the metal floor and tied him to something. Woolsey heard the man's footsteps reverberate on the metal as he moved a short distance away from him. The low humming became a sharp whine and then the constant drone of engines; Woolsey realized that he was in a ship. He felt panic rise in his chest as the ship rose from the field and headed away from the city.

* * *

They had flown for over an hour before the ship landed roughly, jostling Woolsey. His kidnapper dragged him out of the ship and pulled him up a rocky pathway before they stopped. Woolsey stumbled when his kidnapper pulled him across a raised wooden threshold. Falling to the plank floor when the man let go of him, he could do nothing but lay there trying to catch his breath.

He heard the scraping of a chair across the floor and then felt a slight bump against his arm. His kidnapper untied his arms, pulled his rucksack off. Woolsey heard a thud as the pack hit the floor a few feet away from him. The man then pulled the director off the floor, shoving him into the chair. Woolsey tried to stretch out his arms, which were cramping from the ropes that bound him. The kidnapper slapped him and nearly tipped over the chair. The kidnapper pulled his arms back, tied his upper arms to the back of the chair, then tied his hands to the base of the chair back.

"There, you will be nice and secure after I leave you for a while. Now, I don't want you to suffocate so I am gonna take off your hood, and remove the gag. Go ahead, you can yell all you want but no one's gonna hear you." He pulled the hood off and then tugged the gag downward so that the cloth scrap was hanging around Woolsey neck.

Woolsey looked around the small cabin. An oil lamp, sitting on a rough wooden table, provided dim illumination. He wasn't alone; in a chair across the room from him, similarly trussed, was Colonel John Sheppard. The colonel was unconscious and sporting a bloody nose, cut lip, and a large, dark bruise was developing on the colonel's left cheek.

Their kidnapper was standing in the doorway and was wearing a full-face hood as well as a cloak with an additional hood pulled up. He was very large; tall, extremely broad shouldered and looked quite formidable to Richard Woolsey.

"Who are you? Why did you kidnap us?" Instinctively, as he spoke, he pulled against his bonds.

The man laughed. "Now don't go getting any ideas. You can't get loose; nobody ties knots as good as me. I have to return to the city now. I will enjoy watching the spectacle of the Coalition and Atlantis looking frantically for you. They'll be so concerned about what has happened to the great Colonel Sheppard and Mr. Woolsey. I'm sure that Atlantis will send all kinds of soldiers to find you but they never will. Don't worry; I'll be back. We still need to discuss the reason I brought you here," he opened the door and walked outside. As the door closed, Woolsey heard him say, "I'm gonna kill you."

Woolsey response seemed to channel Sheppard; he simply uttered "Crap." Looking at the unconscious Sheppard, he shook his head, "Seems as you have rubbed off on me a bit."

* * *

Woolsey attempted to stay awake but kept drifting off to sleep, only to jerk awake when his head would slump over. He perceived at least two hours had passed since the kidnapper left and during that time Sheppard had not stirred despite his efforts to rouse him.

Thunder was beginning to rumble in the distance, and the air inside the cabin was getting colder. The wind was picking up; he could feel currents of chilly air, seeping though the cracks in the wood plank walls.

He racked his brain for any clues as to the identity of their kidnapper. The presence of the Genii troubled him; they were advanced and capable of developing air travel. However, he didn't think that they had created ships capable of air or space travel. Woolsey also knew that while the Genii were adversaries of Atlantis, there were others.

The storm was getting closer; the wind was howling, and bolts of lightening brightened the interior of the cabin. Woolsey realized sound of rocks hitting the cabin walls was actually hail hitting the wood siding. With the hail, Woolsey panicked for a moment; the thought of a tornado entered his mind. Great, he thought; they weren't in enough peril already. Then he realized how ridiculous he was being. Their kidnapper told him they were going to die; worrying about a storm seemed just a bit trite. He would have kicked himself if he could have.

As the roaring thunder of the storm's fury became louder, Woolsey barely heard a low moan, coming from across the room. He called to Sheppard, "Colonel, are you awake? John, wake up."

"Woolsey?" Sheppard spoke; his speech slurred as he struggled to gain consciousness.

"Yes, John, it's me. A silly question, I know, but how do you feel?"

"Like crap, you?"

"Sore but not injured."

Sheppard grunted, "Damn, these ropes are tight, I can't move. Can you?"

"No, he said we couldn't get loose, that no one tied knots as 'good' as him."

"You saw the guy?" Sheppard grunted again, still trying to loosen his bonds.

"Only that he is very large and intimidating, colonel. He was wearing a mask and hood; I didn't see his face.

"I never saw him either; he got the drop on me. I tried to fight back, but he was way too strong for me." Realizing what he said, Sheppard added, "Woolsey, you tell Ronon that and I'll deny it."

Woosley laughed to himself; military types amazed him. They could joke in the direst circumstances. "Your secret is safe with me, colonel."

Sheppard continued to struggle with the ropes that bound him. He was becoming quite frustrated, "Damn it, I can't get loose. Any ideas who this guy could be?"

"Well, colonel, considering how well loved we are, I couldn't imagine."

Sheppard laughed hoarsely, "And they say you don't have a sense of humor."

Woolsey frowned; he started to ask Sheppard who 'they' were, but decided it wasn't important. "All I can tell you is as he left the last thing he told me was that he had to return to the city for a bit, and then he would be back to kill us."

"Oh, well, if that's all. That's nothing new," Sheppard replied as a massive lighting bolt lit up the sky. The cabin walls rattled from the immediate rumble of thunder.

"That's it; we gotta get out of here." Sheppard's voice rose over the din of the thunder.

As he was about to ask Sheppard how he planned on doing that, Woolsey saw Sheppard bend forward and struggle to stand up. He couldn't imagine what the colonel was planning.

When he managed to maintain his balance, Sheppard asked, "How far am I from the wall? I don't want to turn around and lose my balance."

"About five feet but why?" Then he got his answer.

Sheppard took a deep breath and moving backward as fast as he could, he slammed into the wall behind him, shattering the wooden chair. The colonel fell forward onto the floor, struggling to pull the splintered wooden legs and spindles entangled in the ropes loose. Within minutes, Sheppard had freed his hands from the bindings. He tugged his BDU shirt and black t-shirt up to reveal a knife sheath strapped to his upper left side. He pulled a small knife out and sliced through the rest of the ropes.

Sheppard rushed over to Woolsey, cutting the ropes binding him, "Come on; let's get out of here."

"You have a knife?"

In the dim light, he could see Sheppard smile, "Been around Ronon too long."

"There is a very bad storm out there; don't you think we should wait, colonel?"

"Stay in here and die or get away from here in the rain?"

"If you put it that way, colonel." He followed Sheppard, who had just opened the door, then remembered the rucksack.

"Hold on," Woolsey looked around until he found the pack and grabbed it.

Sheppard smiled, "Good job, Richard; now into the rain."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Into the Rain**

**Author: **stella_pegasi

**Rating: **K+ Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Friendship

**Word Count: **19,474

**Spoilers: **_The Return I & II, Inquisition_ (Story set after Season Five)

**Warnings:** Whump

**Characters:** John Sheppard, Richard Woolsey, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

**Summary:** Sheppard and Woolsey attend a Pegasus Coalition Council Meeting but a contentious meeting is the least of their troubles, someone wants them dead.

**Notes: **Written as a pinch-hitter for the Easter 2010 Fiction Exchange on _sgahcchallenges_ on LiveJournal. Prompt by _x_erikah_x_ and is located at the end of Chapter Five.

**Into the Rain **

_By stella_pegasi_

**Chapter Two The Chase**

The rain was relentless. Lighting was flashing with such frequency that they didn't need a flashlight. The night-vision goggles he made standard equipment for all vests were useless, the lighting was entirely too bright. Sheppard wished he had considered including earplugs. His ears were ringing from the thunder, which was so deafening they could barely communicate.

The cabin sat on a small amount of flat terrain on the side of a mountain. Looking around through the flashes of light, Sheppard spotted a rocky trail leading down the mountain. In the other direction was another trail that led upward toward a thick grove of trees. Grabbing Woolsey's sleeve, he motioned for the Atlantis director to take the path up the mountain.

They struggled along the slippery rocks, grabbing onto the bushes and trees for stability. The heavy rain was pounding down on them, and the wind was making it difficult to stand. Sheppard had Woolsey walk ahead of him in case Woolsey slipped; he presumed that he could catch the Atlantis director if he fell. However, Woolsey didn't fall; he did.

Sheppard slipped on the slick mud-covered rocks. He reached out, managing to grab a thin twig, and thought he was OK until the twig snapped, unable to support his weight. He lost his footing and went down hard onto a pile of rocks. Woolsey had been concentrating on where he was placing his feet, and had continued on for at least fifteen feet before he realized he no longer felt the comforting presence of Sheppard being close to him, pushing him along. Turning, he yelled for the colonel; when he couldn't see him, he carefully retraced his steps.

Woolsey nearly stumbled over the colonel, who was struggling to get to his feet. Grabbing Sheppard's arm, he helped him stand.

"Colonel, you OK?"

"Yeah, just cut my arm, keep going, but look for cave or something. We need to stop and get our bearings." Sheppard cautiously followed Woolsey.

They had climbed for twenty minutes before they came to a rocky out-cropping, about eight feet high and about ten feet deep. Woolsey pointed to it, and Sheppard followed him out of the rain.

They collapsed against the rear of the out-cropping, and neither spoke for a few moments. Sheppard motioned for the rucksack, which Woolsey slipped off and handed it to him.

"Glad you thought to bring this; at least we have water and something to eat." He pulled out the canteen, and was reaching for a couple of powerbars when his fingers touched the holster.

"Woolsey, you rock." He smiled at his companion while he pulled the 9-mil from the rucksack. Sheppard took the holster from the pack, fastening it around his hips, and put the extra ammo in a thigh pocket on his pants. "Can't believe that big idiot didn't take the time to check inside the pack. At least we have a weapon; that gives us a little advantage."

Sheppard leaned his head back against the rock, "So, how far are we from Latira City."

"Colonel, I have no idea."

"No idea? Well, how far did you walk?"

"I didn't walk except from the gate to the ship. Once we landed, it was a fairly short walk to the cabin."

"Ship? Landed? Woolsey, I was unconscious, we were on a ship?"

"Yes, I couldn't see, he put a hood over my head, but we came here on ship. He had flown for about an hour before he landed."

"Crap. We don't even know if we're still on Latira, or if he gated off the planet." Sheppard shook his head. "It's a sure bet, regardless, that we are a long way from Latira City."

"What do we do now, colonel?" The thunderstorms had quieted down, but the rain was still falling heavily.

"It's late, get some rest. I'll wake you in a couple of hours, and you can take watch for a bit. I doubt our friend will come looking for us before daylight. Here, eat a powerbar then get some sleep."

* * *

The sky over Latira City still held the soft rose-yellow glow of the rising sun when Kelore knocked on Woolsey's door, then on Colonel Sheppard's to no avail. He checked with the inn's reception desk, but no one had seen either of the Atlantians since late yesterday.

Kelore left the inn, walking toward the Coalition building, concern beginning to creep into his mind. He had wanted to inform Woolsey and Sheppard of information regarding Shiana that was uncovered during the night. With the Atlantians not in their rooms this early in the morning, he was becoming very uneasy. He hurried to the assembly hall, and through the doors behind the dais to Dimas' chambers.

Dimas was already in his office per his usual habit of rising early. He was alone and motioned Kelore into his inner office.

"Help your to some tea and rolls, Kelore. What brings you so early?"

Kelore poured a cup of tea and sat down. "The Atlantians are not in their rooms at the inn, and I'm concerned for their safety. I have voiced to you my concerns about the Genii. Now, I'm beginning to think that there may be more going on here than I thought."

"Kelore, you have voiced your opinion on the Genii often, but I have suspected in the past that you were not as vehement in your distrust of them. However, I believe that has changed. Why?"

"Dimas, I have suspected that Shiana has been collaborating with the Genii to take over our security needs, and the military training that Atlantis has been providing. I am not certain that their motives are purely to assist the people of this galaxy. Shiana is determined to wreak punishment on the Atlantians; she does not forgive easily."

"Do you have any proof that she's operating for her own interests, and not those of the coalition?"

"Yes, I do." From an inside pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "One of the Latiran Security officers intercepted this document last night. A man had gotten a bit rowdy at Severa Tavern and the tavern owner summoned security. While he was being subdued, this fell out of his coat. Security brought the document directly to me." He handed the one-page note to Dimas.

Dimas read the note, then looked up at Kelore, "If this is true then we have a serious problem on our hands."

"Yes, Dimas, we do."

"Let's see if the Atlantians turn up for the opening session. If they do not, then we will start looking for them."

Kelore decided not to wait for the session to start before beginning the search. He dispatched Latiran Security to begin looking for the Atlantians, starting with a search from the inn to the gate. By the time Dimas rang the chime to open the session, Kelore was fairly certain that Sheppard and Woolsey were not in Latira City.

Dimas was true to his word; he adjourned the meeting over the objections of both Radim and Shiana. The Coalition chair told them he would not hold a discussion over the future relationship of the Coalition and Atlantis without the Atlantians present. Dimas then requested that the Latiran government initiate a search. Kelore sent Myrus to the gate to inform Atlantis.

* * *

"Colonel, wake up; it's getting light." Woolsey shook Sheppard lightly.

Sheppard uncoiled from his curled position, lying on his side, and tried to wake. As he opened his eyes, he saw that the rain was still falling, although not quite as hard as last night. He reached for the canteen by Woolsey's side and sat up to take a drink.

"Ok…we need to figure out where we are. Richard, eat something; then we need to move. We don't have any idea how long we have before our big idiot friend comes back."

Grabbing a powerbar, Sheppard began to pick up any trace that they had stayed there. Woolsey looked like he didn't want to move, but he took the colonel's outstretched hand and got on his feet. He started to pick up the pack, but Sheppard grabbed it.

"No, you had it last night; I'll carry it for a while." Sheppard turned, walking into the falling rain with Woolsey behind.

Sheppard decided that they needed to keep going west, up and over the mountain. He hoped the 'Big Idiot', as he had begun to call him, thought they descended on the east side of the mountain. It was the logical thing for them to do; go down the mountain on the side the cabin was located. What fool would go up, Sheppard thought; then he laughed to himself...he would.

The trail was still treacherous, but the daylight prevented them from stumbling around as they had during the night. They had walked continuously for about an hour and a half before they came to the apex of the mountain. The sight was staggering; everywhere they looked, there were mountains scattered with valleys of varying size. The most disturbing issue was that regardless of the direction they looked there was no sign of civilization. They couldn't even determine if they were still on Latira.

* * *

Major Evan Lorne was exceedingly unhappy, and had no qualms about showing his displeasure to the Pegasus council members assembled in Dimas's private conference room. Captain Waters and Captain Isaacs accompanied Lorne to the meeting.

"Just exactly when did you discover that Mr. Woolsey and the colonel were missing?"

Dimas spoke, "Kelore had approached me approximately two hours before the session started with concerns that he had not been able to locate either of your men. We decided to wait to see if they appeared at the session, when they did not I asked Kelore to contact you."

Kelore tried to appease Lorne, "I assure you that when I left the council chair this morning, I sent the Latiran security guards out to begin a search. We have found nothing to give a clue where they might have gone. However, we're at your disposal for any assistance you may need from us."

Lorne stared at the two men for a moment and then replied. "Kelore, I would appreciate it if you would continue to have your men search the city, as well as, the area immediately outside the city proper. We're gonna take our jumpers up and see if we can spot them from the air. I'll check in with you in one hour."

Kelore nodded, and Lorne and his men left the chambers.

* * *

Shiana was pacing in her chambers; she was angry. Standing in front of the window looking out over a recently renovated garden was Ladon Radim, leader of the Genii.

Shiana stopped and looked at Radim, "You had better be telling me the truth. You swear you didn't do anything to them?"

Radim flashed a thin smile at the angry woman, "I have told you, I may be ambitious, but I'm not stupid. The Genii have tangled with the Atlantians often enough to know that somehow they always seem to win. I don't wish to lose again. We'll beat them fair and square by forcing this vote."

"Fair and square, Ladon? Let's see, how many favors have you had to promise over our little deal. From my vantage point, I have made the deals, and given away a lot of what should be mine while you and the Genii reap all the benefits."

Radim walked over to her, and tilted her face toward his, "Don't worry Shiana, you are going to have many rewards from our alliance as well as be rid of Atlantis. Whoever took them has done us a favor. Hopefully, the meddling colonel and his boss are no longer a problem, which will make our plan very easy to accomplish."

She started to reply when her aide, Mischen Vangar, opened the door. "Madame, Chairman Dimas would like to see you in his office." With a harsh look at Radim, she walked out. Vangar, who served as her aide and bodyguard, followed her, but not before he flashed the same harsh look at Radim.

* * *

Sheppard and Woolsey were making slow progress as they made their way down the mountain. Sheppard had been sport mountain climbing for many years. He had scaled many mountains worse than this one, but never in combat boots, with a driving rain, and Woolsey in tow. Those three things made a difference.

"You doing OK, Richard?"

A slightly out of breath voice answered, "Just fine."

They had been descending steadily for nearly two hours. Spotting some overhanging rocks along the wider path that would offer them a little shelter, Sheppard told Woolsey they would be stopping to rest. He could have sworn he heard Woolsey mutter, "Finally…"

"My bones are wet from this rain." Woolsey literally plopped down on the ground, looking absolutely miserable.

Sheppard chuckled at Woolsey's comment, "Just be thankful it's warm." Sheppard sat down as well, a little more gingerly than Woolsey. His body was sore from the blows he had taken from 'Big Idiot', and falling earlier on the trail. He pulled his legs to his chest, laying his head on his knees. "I've been on a forced march though cold rain. Believe me, this is much better."

"If you say so, colonel." Woolsey leaned against the rock wall behind him, "How do we get out of this, John. We don't even have a clue where we are."

"If we're still on Latira, the Daedalus can locate our transmitters' signals, but she won't be back in Pegasus for at least another five days. If we'e on another planet, then we need to locate the gate; then we'll gate back. Regardless, Richard, we're gonna to have to get out of this ourselves."

"Colonel, do you any suspicions about the identity of our kidnapper?"

"No," he rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn, "there're only a couple of planets that we've come across that even have the capability of air or space travel. I just don't know, and without seeing the ship…no way to guess. It didn't sound like a Dart did it?"

"No, it didn't but then I'm not certain what a Dart sounds like. The ship hummed more than whined, which I believe is how you've described a dart to me. So I suppose a guess as to why we were kidnapped is out the question as well."

"Yep, unless you've got some ideas. My gut's telling me that the Genii aren't behind this; I don't think Radim is this stupid. I know Lorne will suspect him, but he knows as well as I do that the Genii don't want to tangle with Atlantis. Let's rest for a few more minutes; then we need to move on."

* * *

Major Lorne walked out of Kelore's office an hour later and exited the Latiran government building. Waters and Isaacs were waiting for him at the front entrance. He shook his head no in answer to their unvoiced question.

"Kelore's men have found nothing so far. Isaacs get back to the gate and request three more jumpers and teams. We're going to have to search the planet; Waters start working on a search grid. I'm going to find our Genii friend, Radim."

* * *

Sheppard knew they had only descended about a third of the mountain, but he wanted them in the valley before dark. He needed time to find a defensible position to overnight, and he pushed the pace as quick as he dared considering the weather.

Watching Woolsey, he was surprised at his tenacity; the director hadn't complained once about being tired or hungry or sore or miserable from the rain or all the walking. This man was stronger than he appeared. Sheppard laughed as he realized that he actuallyy missed Rodney's whining.

The rain ceased for a bit, and the sun made an appearance about mid-morning; along with rapidly rising temperatures and humidity. Sheppard removed his BDU shirt, tying it around his waist, wishing he had his bandana and his sunglasses. The sweat was flowing down his face, and the sun was glaring in his eyes. They had been walking for about two hours in the hot sun. Sheppard was aware that the effort was beginning to take its toll on Woolsey.

"Richard, we need to rest a bit. Let's get as far as those bushes, then we can stop for a while," all he got from Woolsey was a nod.

They sat on the narrow trail next to the bushes, and both took a large drink of water. Sheppard had held the canteen open periodically to collect rainwater so that they didn't have to ration, at least for the moment.

"Sheppard, I…don't think that I…uh…can keep this pace up for much longer." Woolsey's face and bald pate were glowing bright pink from the sun.

"We've got to get to the bottom of this mountain, and find decent shelter before nightfall. We'll take it slow as we can, I promise. From the looks of those clouds, we're going to get some relief from the heat and sun shortly." The sky was turning black toward the west; huge thunderheads were building, the tops of the clouds still glinting in the sun.

They rested a few more minutes; then Sheppard took the lead, and they continued down the mountain.

* * *

With the sessions cancelled as the Latirans and Atlantians combed the area around the city for the missing men, their kidnapper was able to slip away and return to the mountains. He arrived back at the cabin in early afternoon; anticipating several satisfying hours of punishing Atlantians for their crimes.

He walked into the cabin, and it took a few seconds for him to comprehend that his captives had escaped. As he scanned the room, he spotted the splintered remains of the chair where he secured Sheppard. The colonel was as ingenious as he had heard. Walking over he picked up a piece of the wood and threw it as hard as he could across the room.

"They will pay for what they did. Shiana should have never let 'em go free. They're gonna die."

He stormed out of the cabin; his anger raging as violently as the storm around him. Lighting was streaking across the sky, thunder rumbling, and large raindrops beginning to fall. Standing in the small clearing, he pondered which direction Sheppard would take. He was confident the colonel would not go down the mountain on the east side for fear of running into him. No, this man was smart; he would take them up and over the mountain. He would find the Atlantians on the western side of the mountain. He hurried down the path toward his ship.

* * *

The wind and thunder reached them first; then huge bolts of lighting crashed all around them. When the rain started, the wind drove enormous drops of rain into their bodies. Woolsey thought this must be what rubber bullets felt like when they struck flesh. The rain soon turned into a deluge and both men had difficulty maintaining a foothold on the slippery rocks.

Sheppard was trying to keep himself upright and remain stable enough for Woolsey to use him as an anchor. He was struggling to keep both of them on the trail, and was about to tell Woolsey that they had to stop when he felt a tug on his holster belt. Woolsey had been holding onto the belt because the woven webbing gave him better grip. Sheppard tried to stabilize both of them, but he felt Woolsey's body shift as he lost his footing. As hard as he resisted, Sheppard lost his footing as well, and both of them went over the trail's edge.

Woolsey's body remained entangled with his for the first few revolutions down the mountainside; then Sheppard felt Woolsey jerk away from him while he continued to roll. He stopped abruptly; his right side was burning, and he was breathing rapidly. He focused getting his heart rate down and slowing his breathing.

Gingerly, Sheppard moved his arms and legs to determine if any bones had broken. He then pushed his body upright, his shoulder muscles screaming from the effort. He only wanted to lie down again, but he knew he couldn't. Somewhat unsteady, he managed to stand. Looking around him, he saw that a small, scrubby tree had stopped his forward momentum. Had he gone just another ten feet, he would have fallen over a cliff onto a ledge approximately twenty feet below. Sheppard decided not to think about that.

He could barely see anything in the driving rain, which was blowing directly in his face. Beginning the slow upward climb to the trail, he looked for any indication as to where the director had landed. He felt fear begin to rise in his throat; fear that perhaps Woolsey hadn't been so lucky, and had gone over the edge. Creeping along, grabbing onto what bushes and tree limbs he could, he made his way toward the natural trail they had been following.

When he reached the area where he thought Woolsey separated from him, he halted, squinting closely at the bushes, rocks, and trees for any sign of his companion. He was about to give up when he saw Woolsey's glasses, lying against a rock. He retrieved them, slipping them into a pocket. Concentrating on the area where the glasses had fallen, he spotted a piece of torn fabric snagged on a tree. As he looked beyond, his chest tightened; the tree was on the rim of cliff.

Crawling to the edge, he peered over and saw Richard Woolsey lying on his back on a ledge below the cliff. It was then he noticed a humming sound, the engine hum that Woolsey described, and he looked up. Above him was a small rectangular aircraft with a rounded nose and a large windshield. Behind the windshield, he could see a large man with dark hair and a look of vengeance on his face; the Big Idiot. Realizing that he was a sitting duck, Sheppard instinctively rolled beneath some brush.

Sheppard resumed breathing when he realized that Bid Idiot hadn't fired on him. He was thankful the little airship didn't come with external weapons as standard equipment. Making eye contact with the pilot, he saw him laugh, then bank the airship away from the mountain. With no place to land, their kidnapper would have to set down in a valley, and track them.

Sheppard muttered to himself, "OK, John. You just need to rescue Woolsey, get down the mountain, and find a place to hide; piece of cake."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Into the Rain**

**Author: **stella_pegasi

**Rating: **K+ Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Friendship

**Word Count: **19,474

**Spoilers: **_The Return I & II, Inquisition_ (Story set after Season Five)

**Warnings:** Whump

**Characters:** John Sheppard, Richard Woolsey, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

**Summary:** Sheppard and Woolsey attend a Pegasus Coalition Council Meeting but a contentious meeting is the least of their troubles, someone wants them dead.

**Notes: **Written as a pinch-hitter for the Easter 2010 Fiction Exchange on _sgahcchallenges_ on LiveJournal. Prompt by _x_erikah_x_ and is located at the end of Chapter Five.

**Here are the remaining chapters: Chapters Three, Four, and Five. ****Sorry, I was interrupted yesterday and wasn't able to post these. I meant to post the entire story at once since it was only five chapters. Thanks for being patient!** Hope you enjoy!

**Into the Rain **

_By stella_pegasi_

**Chapter Three The Valley**

Woolsey was lying about six feet below him, and hadn't moved in the few minutes since Sheppard returned to the rim of the cliff. The shelf Woolsey was laying on was barely wide enough for him to have room to jump down and maneuver around the director.

He didn't have much time, but he took a few precious minutes to consider how he could move Woolsey off the rock ledge. His options were limited if the director's injuries were severe. The trail so far had been too narrow and uneven to use a travois. He saw some thick saplings and vines that he could make one with if that was his only choice. With that in mind, he cautiously dropped over the side of the cliff onto the ledge.

The director was lying on his back; his right arm bent beneath his body, his legs bent at an angle. Blood thinned by the pouring rain was flowing from a nasty gash on his forehead. Like Sheppard, as Woolsey's tumbled down the slope his clothing snagged on the branches and was sliced by sharp rocks. They had suffered numerous cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

"Richard, can you hear me?" Sheppard leaned over Woolsey's face to keep the rain from hitting him. He slid his hands along Woolsey's arms, legs and rib cage to determine the extent of his injuries. His preliminary check convinced him that Woolsey had broken a couple of ribs, in addition, to an obvious broken right arm. He gently shook him, and Woolsey moaned softly.

"Sheppard?" His voice was shaky and weak.

"How ya doing? Can you sit up?" Woolsey nodded, and Sheppard placed his arm under the director's shoulders and helped him sit up.

"Oww…my back… arm…hurt," Woolsey's face was a mask of pain. Sheppard raised the director's shirt, wincing at the sizeable cut across Woolsey's back; at least, it wasn't bleeding profusely.

"Richard, uh...you've got a cut across your lower back; your right arm is broken, and I think you've got a couple of broken ribs. Look, we gotta get out of here; our friend just flew over and spotted us. You're gonna have to get up." Woolsey nodded, and Sheppard helped him to his feet.

Once Woolsey was standing, Sheppard decided the best way to get him back on the trail was to lift him up. He unzipped the director's TAC vest and expedition jacket; as gently as he could, he tucked Woolsey's right arm against his chest, and then secured the jackets.

"Richard, I am gonna to kneel down; I want you to step up on my leg, OK?"

"uh...OK…"

Sheppard knelt down and helped Woolsey step up on his thigh; Sheppard took Woolsey's right foot into his hand, and placed the foot on his shoulder. Woolsey uttered a sharp cry, and then moaned.

"Hang in there, you're doing fine." Sheppard grabbed Woolsey's other foot, and once he had him stable, Sheppard stood up.

"Richard, you only have about a foot more to get onto the path. Use that tree to your left to help you pull up."

Using his hands, Sheppard pushed Woolsey the rest of the way. He then grabbed the base of the small tree, and managed to walk his way up the cliff. Sheppard couldn't stifle a groan; he was sore from the bruises and cuts all over his body, but at least he hadn't broken anything.

"Look, I know you are in a lot of pain, but Big Idiot knows where we are. We have to keep moving. It's going to take him some time to get to us. We gotta go now." Sheppard had to yell so that Woolsey could hear him over the new thunderstorm was raging around them. Woolsey simply nodded back, not trying to talk.

"Hang on to my belt like you did before; stay close. We're gonna go slow."

As they started back down the mountain, Sheppard thoughts turned to what he needed to do to keep them safe. Visibility was terrible, and the heavy rain and thunder was masking any other noise. He knew the only chance they had was to get to the bottom of the mountain as quickly as possible, and that wasn't going to be quick at all.

* * *

The jumper carrying Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex, as well as Lieutenant Salem's team, arrived on Latira late in the afternoon. The trio had been on a scientific survey mission with Salem's team while Sheppard was with Woolsey.

"Lorne, any news?" McKay asked as he stepped off the jumper; Lorne had come to meet them.

"'Fraid not, doctor; we have no idea where they are, or what has happened to them."

Ronon spoke, "You talk to the Genii?"

"Yeah, I spoke to Radim, but to be honest, I don't think he's involved in their disappearance. I'm more inclined to think Shiana has something to do with it. Kelore of Latira has uncovered some evidence that she is cutting a deal with the Genii on the side, and with her hatred of Atlantis, she might want Sheppard and Woolsey out of the way."

"Have you questioned her?" McKay asked.

"She has refused to speak with us." As Lorne answered, he noticed Ronon's hand close around the grip of his blaster. Teyla noticed Ronon's action, as well.

"Then we will have to convince her to speak with us. The Daedalus is pushing her engines to arrive a couple of days early, but they are still three days from Latira. The colonel and Mr. Woolsey may not have that much time." Teyla laid her hand on Ronon's arm as she spoke to Lorne. She hoped to calm the Satedan.

"Let's go find Shiana." McKay said; Lorne led them into the coalition assembly hall.

* * *

They had been walking for nearly an hour as the rain, wind, and lightening continued to swirl around them. The wind was gusting, causing Woolsey serious difficulty walking. Sheppard knew he was pushing Woolsey harder than he should be. He had no idea if Woolsey had internal injuries, but he did know he was in considerable pain. Even with the roar of the rain, wind, and thunder, Sheppard heard the sharp cries of pain that Woolsey couldn't contain.

Sheppard reflected on this man beside him, struggling to walk. Before Woolsey became the director of Atlantis, he had thought of him as a timid, fussy, frightened man. They had used that fearful personality to fool the Replicators, who had captured Atlantis from the Ancients when they had briefly returned. It was clear that the timid, fussy, frightened man from before was not the same man that was now in command of Atlantis. He had grown so much since he arrived on Atlantis, but then, Sheppard thought, they had all changed.

Sheppard was certain that there was at least another hour's worth of walking before they made it to the valley floor. He was getting tired, fighting the wind and trying to keep Woolsey upright was taking its toll on him. The one good thing was that the path had widened as they approached the base of the mountain. He had been able to bring Woolsey from behind him, and now had his left arm around Woolsey. The director's broken right arm was secure against Sheppard's side, restricting movement and hopefully, reducing his pain.

"Hey," Sheppard shouted over the noise, "can you...uh...go a little further? Don't see anywhere to stop." Woolsey nodded yes, and they kept on going.

He had been scanning the terrain as best he could for a glimpse the ship, or Big Idiot. Sheppard realized it was going to be extremely difficult to spot him, and with a severely injured man to look out for, they were going to be easy targets. When they reached the valley, he was going to have to find a cave or recess in the rock where he could hide Woolsey.

* * *

Dimas finally stepped in, forcing Shiana to meet with the Atlantians. As she entered the council chair's chambers, she was not in a cooperative mood.

Ronon didn't wait for pleasantries; he walked directly to her, "Where's Sheppard?"

Not one to be intimidated easily, she stared back at the large Satedan, "Lost him, have you?" Her eyes showed her pleasure seeing the fury in Ronon's face, knowing he would never attack her. The Atlantians were a lot of things, reckless in her opinion, but foolish they were not.

Dimas intervened, "Shiana, we do not have time for your personal vendetta, please answer the question. Do you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard?"

"No," she gazed about the Chair's chambers at the faces staring at her and added, "Are we done here?"

Rodney took a step toward her, but Teyla put her hand on his chest, moving in front of him. She addressed the councilwoman, "Shiana, we have not met, but I am Teyla Emmagan of Athos. Regardless of what you think of our colleagues personally, you have an obligation to the coalition to assist us. Do you know or suspect who might be behind their disappearance? And do not lie to me, you will regret it." Teyla could also be quite formidable, as her eyebrow raised to emphasis her words.

Shiana wavered slightly as she replied to Teyla, "Teyla Emmagan, I do not know who may have done harm to your 'colleagues', but as an offer of good will, should I discover anything, I will certainly inform you." Looking at Dimas, Shiana said, "We are done now." She turned and left.

Teyla looked back at those assembled in Dimas' office, "She knows something."

* * *

Sheppard was beginning to think he could not go another step, and he was completely amazed that Woolsey was still on his feet, albeit barely. The last half-hour had been a bit easier than any other part of the descent. They were near the bottom of the mountain, and the ground was beginning to flatten out.

Emerging off the mountain into a narrow valley, Sheppard had attempted to survey the area as they descended, but the rain had virtually obliterated his view. The one thing he did know was that the terrain was also very rocky, and that gave him hope that he could find shelter.

When he finally realized that he did not have to lean into a downward angle, Sheppard straightened up and halted. Woolsey sagged against him as their forward momentum stopped.

"Hey, Richard, we made it...we're in the valley."

"Goo'…good…sit…down?" Woosley was very weak.

"Not yet, just a bit farther. Uh...need to find a safe place to hide." Sheppard steered him toward a grove of trees, and started to search. The valley appeared to narrow some as they walked, and there was a swollen stream to their left, water moving rapidly along its shallow banks. After ten minutes, Sheppard saw a possibility for shelter. There was a very rocky area to their right, and part of it looked quite a bit darker to Sheppard. He hoped that meant a cave.

"Come on, Richard, just a little bit farther."

The path to the area Sheppard wanted to check out was treacherous; Sheppard stumbled twice, but managed to stay upright, keeping Woolsey upright, as well. As they got closer, he could tell that the area was an opening in the mountainside. He hoped it was deep enough to get Woolsey out of danger.

"Richard, sit down on this rock and lean against this tree. I think we've found a place to get out of the rain." Once he was sure that Woolsey was not in any danger of falling off the rock, Sheppard moved toward the opening. Pulling the rucksack off, he rummaged until he found the small flashlight, flicked it on, and peered through the dim light into the cave. It didn't appear to be very deep, but the space dogged legged to the right. If he could get Woolsey in deep enough, then maybe the big guy wouldn't be able to find him.

Backing out of the cave, Sheppard turned toward Woolsey. "Come on Richard, let's get out of the rain."

* * *

The "Big Idiot" landed the small ship about three miles from the mountain where he had spotted Sheppard and Woolsey. The storm was too violent, and his piloting skills too novice, for him to put the ship down in any of the several spots closer to the location of the Atlantians. He wasn't too worried about that; the more time that passed, the weaker Sheppard and Woolsey would become. When he caught them, he could toy with them.

He thought about how lucky he had been to come across the pilot from Quenius, who owned the little personal transport. Quenius had not suffered a culling by the Wraith in thousands of years, and that had provided them with the luxury of time to develop technology. However, Quenius had not been so lucky during the most recent Wraith awakening. The pilot fled the city and hid in the mountains while the Wraith decimated the population of his world. When they met up a few months ago, the pilot had decided to sell the ship. He had been able to get his hands on it, as well as, get the pilot to agree to teach him to fly it. He had begun to plan his revenge then.

He grabbed his weapons, a Wraith stunner pistol, a Genii pistol, and a long gun. He filled a leather bag with a water pouch and some food, and exited down the narrow metal steps in search of his quarry. He began his trek toward the mountain where he had spotted the Atlantians, and the narrow valley below it with only one thought on his mind. They would pay; they would pay for the death of his wife, his two sons, and his precious daughter, as well as, for all the others. They would pay.

* * *

Richard Woolsey finally comprehended that he wasn't walking or being struck by rain any longer. The thunderous din from the rain and the wind was muffled, and no longer bombarding his ears. He slowly became aware he was lying on his left side on a hard surface, his head resting on something soft. As he opened his eyes, the only thing he could see was a dim beam of light, bouncing around him. Then the pain flooded his body, and he remembered everything.

"Shep…Sheppard?" His voice was strained; it was hard for him to breath with the pain.

From behind him, "Ri' 'h'er". Sheppard's voice was garbled from the miniature flashlight he was holding in his teeth; he removed it before he spoke again. "Checking the cut on your back. You got lucky; uh...it's pretty shallow and not bleeding. I applied some Neosporin and bandaged it. Now, I need you to lie on your back." He helped Woolsey roll over, mindful of his broken arm.

OK, now…the bad stuff. I've got to splint this arm. Richard, I have morphine to help with the pain, but I need you alert. I can give you a little to ease the pain." Woolsey nodded he understood. Sheppard administered about a third of the dose of morphine, waiting for the drug to take effect before he handled Woolsey's arm.

After a few minutes, Woolsey was breathing easier, "John, uh…where are we?"

"We made it down the mountain, we're in a narrow valley; found a cave to get out of the rain."

Sheppard took the two small branches he cut, laying them next to Woolsey's arm and then gently began to splint the broken forearm with what was left of the gauze and bandages. He used tape from the med kit to tape along Woolsey's likely broken ribs. Then, using Woolsey's belt as a sling, he immobilized Woolsey's arm against his chest. He helped the director into a sitting position and then tucked an emergency blanket around him.

"You need to eat something." Sheppard pulled a MRE from the pack. Opening it, he began to pull food items out, "This one has beef stew in it…best I can do right now."

Woolsey shook his head, "Just…water…eat later; you eat that." Sheppard realized how hungry he was and didn't argue. He held the canteen for Woolsey to take a drink before he began eating the cold stew. When he finished, he told Woolsey his plan.

"I am going to lure the Big Idiot away from you, and find another place to hide. I need to keep him away from you until help gets here." He handed the 9-mil to Woolsey, and was digging the ammo pack from his pocket when Woolsey pushed the gun back at him.

"No…keep it."

"Look, uh...I can't stay here and protect you. I need to draw Big Idiot away; only chance we both have. I can stay out of his way, and keep him on the run until the Daedalus arrives."

"Colonel, are you…certain we are still on…Latira?"

"Pure gut feeling, that's all." Sheppard wasn't going to lie to Woolsey.

Woolsey held out the gun, "Take…it…an order."

Sheppard took the gun and holstered it, and put the ammo back into his pocket. He pulled the small knife out of his pocket and handed it to Woolsey.

"This isn't going to give you very much protection. If you hear someone enter this cave, play dead and wait until they are close. Just make sure it isn't me. Here are the night vision goggles; they'll give you an edge over him, if he comes into the cave. Richard, if you have to use the knife, use it to kill. Got that."

Woolsey nodded at the colonel with a fierce determination in his eyes. Sheppard realized that he fully understood the danger they faced. Sheppard left the canteen, a couple of powerbars and MRE's that he opened up, where Woolsey could reach them.

Sheppard stood up, "Richard, just stay quiet, and you'll be safe." Without waiting for an answer, Sheppard turned and jogged away from Woolsey toward the small spot of light at the entrance of the cave.

* * *

Kelore had offered them the use of a conference room as a base of operations, and the Atlantians had gathered there to discuss the situation. Through the Palladian-styled windows, the jumpers were visible, parked on a large lawn, the teams standing outside waiting for orders.

"Damn it, Lorne; where the hell are they?" Rodney McKay's patience level had never been stellar but had virtually vanished. The scientist's anger was on the verge of boiling over, and he had no outlet to direct his rage toward. He simply paced back and forth in front of windows for lack of anything else to do.

"Doc, I don't know," Lorne was just as exasperated. On numerous occasions during the last few hours, he would have gladly traded places with Sheppard so that he didn't have to deal with the colonel's teammates. They could be very trying when Sheppard was missing. Lorne laughed to himself as he thought, _'Who am I kidding, like all of us aren't just as concerned about these two men.'_

"I dispatched Isaacs and Stackhouse's teams out to canvas everyone in coalition headquarters to see if they get obtain some intel. I want to determine if anyone's unaccounted for; maybe we'll get lucky and uncover a lead."

Teyla nodded to Lorne that she was in agreement with his plan when Lieutenant Stackhouse burst into the room.

"Major, Corporals Brenner and Rodriguez may have something, sir. They just found out that there is one member of a delegation that is missing; no one has seen him since around noon today and he was unaccounted for last night."

McKay brushed past Lorne and went to Lieutenant Stackhouse, "Who, lieutenant?"

"Sir, his name is Mischen Vangar, and he's a member of Shiana's staff; her personal aide and bodyguard. He's also from the Tribes of Santhal; another survivor of the Replicator attack, as was Shiana."

McKay snapped his fingers and shook his head, "I knew it. She's behind this."

Lorne nodded in agreement, "Come on, let's find Kelore, we'll let his security guards' deal with bringing her to us for questioning. This time, she doesn't get a pass."

* * *

Mischen Vangar reached the beginning of the narrow valley that Sheppard and Woolsey had entered as they left the mountain. He knew from flying over the area that this valley was more like a canyon and that the opening at the other end was narrow and difficult to traverse. He should have them cornered. He wished he had found sufficient time to study the area, but Shiana was involved in so much contrivance with the Genii that he had been unable to learn more about the terrain.

He was still enraged that Sheppard had managed to get loose and evade him. If the Atlantians had not gotten away, this would be over. He would be safely back in the city, and no one would ever suspect him. Atlantis and the coalition might suspect Shiana, but they would never suspect him. All the council members and their staffs referred to Mischen as the man who did her bidding. He never exerted his own opinion, only followed Shiana's orders like a good little servant. Precisely what he wanted them to think; that he was a timid and seemingly, unintelligent man not capable of capturing a warrior from Atlantis.

* * *

The rain continued to fall at a steady pace, but without the intensity of earlier in the day. The valley floor was saturated, and Sheppard's boots sank deeply into the soggy surface. At times, the mud was so viscous, he struggled to move his feet forward.

Normally, Sheppard would have been pleased that the rain was covering his tracks, but, under these circumstances, it was not all what he wanted. He wanted to leave a trail so that he could draw the kidnapper away from Woolsey. Backtracking to the location where they had come off the mountain, he started breaking limbs on trees, occasionally ripping off small pieces of his torn black t-shirt, hooking the cloth on a branch. He crossed over the swiftly moving stream, and snapped a tree limb to make it appear it split when he pulled himself from the stream.

Sheppard reached the area across the stream from the cave when he heard a gunshot, and a tree limb above his head splintered from the impact of a bullet. Crouching behind a large rock, he scanned the area, attempting to spot the shooter. He thought it was a good bet that Big Idiot had caught up with him, but he couldn't see anything through the thick vegetation and the pouring rain.

Needing to reach higher ground, Sheppard darted from his hiding place, running as fast as he could. His target was the dense tree line at the mountain's base, but he had to traverse a wide clearing to reach it. He decided against laying down a cover shot; he simply didn't have enough ammo to waste. He was almost to the trees when he heard the muffled retort of a weapon and felt the burning hot slug enter, then exit, his left thigh. Grunting from the stabbing pain, Sheppard stumbled but managed to retain his balance. Despite the excruciating pain in his leg, he continued to run into the thick trees and underbrush.

Another shot rang out, ricocheting off a rock behind him. Sheppard kept running, using the trees to pull himself up the incline. Reaching a large cluster of fallen rocks, he slipped behind them, his heart pounding.

The wounds were bleeding profusely but he was certain the bullet hadn't hit an artery. He assumed he'd be dead already if it had. He untied his BDU shirt from around his waist, and ripped it into long strips of cloth for bandages. Wadding up a couple of the strips, he pressed them into the wounds, and the wrapped the other wet strips as tightly as he dared around his thigh. He hoped it would be enough to stem the bleeding.

Sheppard peered over the top of the rocks, 9-mil in hand. The rain fall had lightened a bit, and he had a visual on a large figure in the distance. Sheppard didn't think that Idiot had spotted where he was; he waited patiently for a clear shot, Big Idiot was more than fifty meters away, about the effective range of a 9-mil. A few minutes passed, the Idiot moved away from the tree he was hiding behind, and Sheppard fired. Big Idiot's body jerked backwards and dropped from Sheppard's line of sight.

Sheppard scrambled up the mountainside, and began moving parallel to the valley. He continued for about fifty yards until the terrain became too rocky to keep going straight. With his leg injured, he didn't think he could climb rapidly enough to escape the Idiot. He decided his best option was to head back down into the valley.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: Into the Rain**

**Author: **stella_pegasi

**Rating: **K+ Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Friendship

**Word Count: **19,474

**Spoilers: **_The Return I & II, Inquisition_ (Story set after Season Five)

**Warnings:** Whump

**Characters:** John Sheppard, Richard Woolsey, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

**Summary:** Sheppard and Woolsey attend a Pegasus Coalition Council Meeting but a contentious meeting is the least of their troubles, someone wants them dead.

**Notes: **Written as a pinch-hitter for the Easter 2010 Fiction Exchange on _sgahcchallenges_ on LiveJournal. Prompt by _x_erikah_x_ and is located at the end of Chapter Five.

**Into the Rain **

_By stella_pegasi_

**Chapter Four Vengeance **

Kelore's men brought Shiana to his office, where Sheppard's team, along with Major Lorne waited. As she walked in the room, she jerked her arm away from the guard who had practically dragged her through the doorway.

"Kelore, I demand to know why I have been brought here, in front of these people, against my will. You will pay for this insolence. We may be on your home world, but you are nothing more than a council member, as am I. You have no authority over me." Her dark brown eyes were flashing hostility at everyone in the room.

Turning toward the Atlantians, she glared at Teyla in particular, "Don't tell me that this is all because of Sheppard and the other one. I have told you, I do not know where they are, and I do not care. Kelore let me go now, or there will be serious consequences."

Kelore motioned for the guard to place Shiana in a chair; she started to resist but then sat down. He walked around his desk and stood directly in front of her.

"Shiana, what can you tell us about Mischen Vangar, and do you know where he is right now?"

"What about him?" From the stunned expression on her face, she was obviously not anticipating questions about her personal aide.

McKay couldn't control his impatience with the council woman any longer. Slamming his fist onto Kelore's desk, he shouted, "Damn it, Shiana, answer the question now. Where is he?"

Shiana gave McKay a short laugh and a curt answer. "I have no idea."

Ronon decided that he had listened to enough lies from the council woman. Grabbing the back of Shiana's chair, he spun her around. With his face only inches from hers, he quietly said, "Tell us where he is, or I will make you tell."

"Ronon!" Teyla rushed to him and attempted to pull him away. The Satedan didn't budge, continuing to stare into Shiana eyes.

His dark eyes were blazing with anger as he spoke, "You will answer me. I'm a native of the Pegasus galaxy. I have a right to ask you, a council member, what you know, now talk."

Ronon turned to look at Teyla, her hands still locked around his arm, and pushed Shiana's chair, nearly sending it over on its side. One of the Latiran guards grabbed the chair in time to prevent Shiana from crashing to the floor. Ronon walked across the room, and leaned against the wall. His fingers curled around the grip of his blaster; his eyes still locked on Shiana.

Shiana looked nervously at the faces intently watching her as she answered, "I do not know where he is; in fact, I have asked members of my staff to try and locate him. He hasn't been seen anywhere in the city since shortly after the session adjourned."

Kelore asked, "Would Vangar have reason to want to harm Colonel Sheppard and Mr. Woolsey?"

Her expression became even darker as she looked directly at Teyla, who had gone to stand near Ronon. "Yes, he does; his family was killed by the Replicators when my family was. In fact, it was Mischen who pulled me through the Gate of the Ancestors when he realized that both of our families were dead and we could do nothing to help them. He has every reason, as do many of us, to wish punishment on the Atlantians."

Kelore was quiet for a moment, "Shiana, this has been settled; the Atlantians are not to blame for all of the horrors that have befallen this galaxy. Atlantis is an integral part of our existence now, and we must all work together. If the Coalition is to survive, restore order and move forward, we cannot look to the past. Tell us now, what do you know?"

"I swear on the lives of my husband and children, I do not know where he is or if he is behind the disappearance of the Atlantians." She paused as if she was reluctant to continue, "However, it would not surprise me; the lost of his wife, two sons, and daughter weigh heavy on him every moment of every day. He requested to serve on my staff so that he could help with building the coalition. I owed him that, he saved my life. Although, I'm not certain either one of us are happy that we lived."

Kelore motioned to the guards to escort Shiana from the office. Turning to the Atlantians, he asked, "What now?"

* * *

John Sheppard leaned against the rock wall, deciding he had enjoyed better days. The rain was pouring down as fiercely as it had since last night, his left thigh was throbbing, his head hurt, and he was cold, wet, and miserable. Upon reflection, he thought, this day was not unique; it was simply another normal day for Atlantis's military commander.

Once he was back in the valley, Sheppard searched for a time before he located a protected area surrounded by large boulders and scrub brush. There was a small recessed area carved into the mountain that offered him shelter from the relentless rain. Well aware that he couldn't rest for long, he took the luxury of closing his eyes for a few minutes.

Digging a powerbar from his pants pocket, he munched on the bar as he contemplated his next move. He had no idea how badly he had injured the bastard following him. He had watched Big Idiot fall after he fired at him, but for all Sheppard knew, the man might have gotten right back up, uninjured. The fact was, he didn't know, and that meant he had to keep moving.

Before he left the relatively dry area of the shelter, he inspected the bandages on his leg. His wounds were still seeping. He assumed the constant flexing of his leg muscles as he ran over the rough ground was causing the oozing blood. Ripping another long strip of cloth from what was left of his shirt, he fastened the new layer over the existing bandages. He got to his feet reluctantly, and scanned the terrain around him; not seeing his assailant, Sheppard limped out into the rain.

* * *

McKay was sitting in a jumper, parked on the ground, monitoring the data from the latest air search that Lorne had ordered. The other jumpers were searching in a widening concentric grid around the city again to see if they missed anything during the first search.

"Nothing yet?" The scientist looked up from his pad as he heard Ronon's voice; the Satedan and Teyla had returned to the jumper after canvassing the government building.

Teyla and Ronon, along with Captain Waters and Lt. Salem's teams had been re-interviewing everyone in the coalition headquarters again, now that they had something to question them about. Kelore had sent his own security guards out into the city to see if anyone had knowledge of Mischen Vangar's whereabouts.

"It's been two hours since we found out that bastard might have taken them, what if we're too late?" The tension in his voice and the pain evident in his eyes revealed Rodney's increasing anxiety. "Do you think Shiana had a hand in Sheppard and Woolsey disappearing?"

"Rodney, it is possible that Shiana is involved, but I was watching her face when she heard Vangar's name. I believe she was quite shocked when she realized that he might be involved in John and Woolsey's disappearance. I am not certain that she does have anything to do this." Teyla sat down across from Rodney, leaning back in the co-pilot's chair, she sighed. "I have a bad feeling that we may not be able to find them."

Rodney shivered as he looked at Teyla, "Teyla, I'm the one that always pessimistic. People expect me to say something like that, but you; you are the one who always gives us hope. Please don't start changing on me now; I don't think I can deal with that at the moment."

Ronon smacked Rodney lightly on the back, "Don't worry, little man, we'll find them."

The radio crackled and Lorne's voice reverberated in the cockpit, "Dr. McKay, we may have a lead; please come to the conference room."

Sheppard's teammates raced out of the jumper and through the side door of the building into the corridor, leading to the conference room. The first thing they noticed as they walked into the room was a small, pale, thin man sitting at the conference table, flanked by two large Marines.

"This is Bevern; he works at a tavern on the edge of the city. He believes that he saw Vangar around 1030 hrs today. Tell them what you saw, Bevern."

Bevern appeared very nervous and spoke in a quiet, timid voice. "I was taking empty barrels out of tavern to the storage building, and I saw a very large man heading out of town on the old quarry road. I noticed him because the quarry is abandoned; no one ever goes down that road any more. He looked like the man they described to me."

Lorne prompted him to continue, "Go on, Bevern, what happened next?"

"Well, about fifteen minutes later, I brought another barrel out and I heard a funny noise. A kind of humming sound, and it was coming from the sky. I looked up, and there was this silver boxy thing in the air, it looked something like that thing out there." He pointed to the jumper visible through the windows. "It was above the trees, and it kept going up a ways, then headed north."

Lorne thanked Bevern, nodding for the Marines to escort him out. Once the room was clear, Lorne spoke, "Kelore tells me that the quarry road runs parallel to the road to the stargate is located on. Only a quarter of a mile separates the roadways, with a forested area in between. Flying toward the north would take the ship toward a large mountain range."

"That's where he took them, no wonder we couldn't find any trace of them." Rodney shook his head, "Lorne, we need to check out that road, might be able to find some clues."

"Let's go; meantime, I'm going to recall the search jumpers, and send them toward the mountains to survey what we're up against." Lorne lead the way as they exited the conference room, this time with a small ounce of hope.

* * *

Inside the dark cave, time seemed to standstill for Richard Woolsey after Sheppard departed. The pale dim light from the cave opening did not penetrate as far as the dark corner where Sheppard had left him. He had never felt more alone.

He could hear the constant pounding of the heavy rain hitting the rocks outside the cave. The rain was lulling him into the sleep he so desperately needed, but he was determined to stay awake. He needed to do that for Sheppard. Damn fool colonel had put himself in danger in order to protect him; the least he could do was stay awake and alert.

His legs and back were numb from remaining in same position for too long. He attempted to shift his weight without disturbing his broken arm, but even the slightest movement sent agonizing pain coursing through his body. Woolsey tried to breathe through the pain, but his broken ribs quickly alerted him that wasn't a great idea.

He was making an effort to settle down when he heard a muffled noise from outside the cave. Gunfire; he was positive that the sharp crack had to be weapons fire. A short period of time passed, and he heard another sound like gunfire, this time further away. Woolsey was certain that Sheppard was in trouble, and there was nothing he could do to help.

* * *

As Sheppard tried to draw the man further away from Woolsey, he began to sense he might have made an error in choosing the direction he was heading. The valley was quickly narrowing, and the stream that ran through the valley was threatening to overspill its banks. He decided that he needed to circle around, and head in the other direction.

Cautiously, Sheppard turned around, and began making his way back. He decided Big Idiot would assume that he wouldn't try to traverse the stream, which was flowing much swifter than earlier in the day. At least, that was what he hoped his pursuer would think. He began scouting for a decent place to cross. He would remain on the other side of the stream until he passed the location where he thought Big Idiot might be, and then cross the stream again. With any luck, he would become the pursuer.

Sheppard skirted along the tree line until he spotted an area of the stream that looked narrow enough to cross. After scanning around for the Idiot, he ran as fast as he could on his injured leg and hit the water sinking up to mid-thigh. The water was rushing around his legs, propelling him forward, but the effort to stay upright was taking a toll on his wounds. He could feel the strength in his injured thigh fading as the burning and cramping increased. He was almost to the other side when his left leg collapsed under the strain, and Sheppard fell into the swiftly moving water, which began to sweep him downstream.

He was bouncing off rocks, as he desperately tried to grab one of the low hanging tree limbs passing over his head. Missing on the first two attempts, he managed to hook his left arm around the third. The force borne by his body to stop his forward momentum felt like it was going to rip his arm from its socket. Wrapping his right arm around the limb, he pulled himself toward the bank, and rested for a few moments. Then he crawled out of the stream, and managed to stand up.

"Uhhh...way to go, John. At least you managed to get swept to the side of the stream you wanted to be on." Needing to rest after the wild water ride, he starting looking around for a place to get out of sight.

* * *

Rodney was monitoring the jumper's sensors as they began a low pass over the old quarry road. Within a couple of minutes, he detected an anomalous energy reading, minute traces of a radioactive substance.

"I've got something." He was pounding the keyboard of his pad running calculations.

Major Lorne, who was piloting the jumper, glanced over at the scientist, "What…what do you have, McKay?"

"A residual energy reading, some sort of radiation; could be from a engine."

"Where?" Lorne asked.

Rodney looked up at the jumper's windshield and pointed to the right. "There's an open field just past the tavern on the right. Sensors are picking up a weak energy signal from the other side of that large grove of trees.

Lorne radioed the other jumpers to scout the area for the ship in case Vangar may have parked it elsewhere, then he landed near the coordinates of the energy residue. They exited the jumper to take a look around.

"There is definitely trace radiation here; this has to be where he parked the ship." Rodney began walking toward an area that was tucked behind several large trees.

Ronon and Teyla had started looking for looking for tracks. Ronon called to Lorne, "definitely something big sat here, grass matted down, and some trees branches bent.'

"There are tracks from here leading to the road." Teyla added.

"OK…let's get back in the air and join the others. We'll make a quick sweep of the area in case he's still in the area. If he's smart, he would park the ship in a different location each time he returns."

Once they were back in the jumper, Lorne asked McKay, "Doc, can we use that energy reading to locate Vangar's ship?"

McKay nodded to the major, "Yeah, I think we can. Vangar's ship's engine is not very powerful, not like the jumpers, and the energy residue is slight. But we can reconfigure the sensors on the jumpers to pick it up. The only problem is that we would have to be pretty close to the ship, or to where it's been to find it; the energy reading is very weak."

"Then let's get the jumpers back to the government building where you can work on the sensor reconfig. We secure some topographical maps of the mountains, and start planning a search grid. I have a feeling he took them there." Lorne banked the jumper around toward the city, and radioed for the others to follow. Behind them, the storms from the mountains were moving toward the city.

* * *

Sheppard glanced up at the sky; the shadows were getting deeper in the valley, and he knew darkness would cloak the valley before the sun actually set. He estimated that he had about an hour or so before he would lose daylight, and needed to find a place to take cover for the night.

The ordeal was beginning to affect him; walking was becoming a struggle. Nearly all of the muscles in his body were burning from the constant movement, abuse from the tumble in the stream, and the gunshot wounds. At least he wasn't thirsty or dehydrated; he had consumed water all along from cupping his hand in the rain as well as gulping down a lot during his wild ride in the stream. What he needed was protein and electrolytes to keep his muscles from cramping; he envisioned a thick, juicy steak but a powerbar would have to do, and he took one from his pocket.

Stopping to get his bearings, Sheppard surmised he was about twenty yards past the cave entrance. He wanted to check on Woolsey's condition, but he couldn't risk Big Idiot seeing him enter the cave. He had attempted to be as quiet as he could as he walked past the cave opening to prevent Woolsey from hearing him. No need to unduly alarm the director.

The stream was now overflowing its banks, and he didn't want to tackle crossing it again until he rested. He decided to continue going forward until he found an area protected enough to stay the night. He was slowly making his way through a thick grove of trees and underbrush when he heard the sound.

The sound was almost indiscernible over the heavy rains, but he heard it. Readying a gun to fire made a very unique and distinct noise, not soon to be forgotten by someone in the military. Sheppard slipped his hand onto the grip of his 9-mil, waiting quietly for the gunman's next move.

"You are a slippery bastard, Sheppard. You thought you could get away from me, didn't you? The smart colonel from Atlantis should be able to outsmart a mere resident of the Pegasus galaxy. I believe I have proven that you were quite wrong about that assumption, my dear colonel. Put your hands up where I can see them, and move over into that clearing."

Taking a cue from his instructions, Sheppard hoped that Big Idiot couldn't see his hands. He slipped the 9-mil from its holster and slid the handgun into the back waistband of his pants, pulling what was left of his black t-shirt over the weapon. Then he slowly turned to locate where the Idiot was standing. As he turned, Idiot fired a shot which struck the rock face behind him.

"I'm not kidding, Sheppard. Get into the clearing."

Sheppard stepped out into the clearing, and got his first real look at the man he had been calling Big Idiot. Unfortunately, Big Idiot didn't look like an idiot. He was tall, about Ronon's size, as well as heavier and quite a bit older than the Satedan. There was blood matted on the side of his head, appearing to come from a long, raw groove cut into his hair. Sheppard assumed that was his handiwork; he had hit him with the shot earlier. The Big Idiot was bruised and cut all over his body just as he was, and, as the big guy moved a bit closer to him, Sheppard could see he was also limping severely, grimacing as he put weight on his right leg.

"Who are you?" Sheppard asked.

"I am the man who is going to kill you."

"Oh…heard that before. Uh...Need to get a more original line." Sheppard gave Big Idiot a little smirk.

'Shut up, do you think I'm some sort of idiot you can make fun of?"

"Well, I nicknamed you Big Idiot for attempting this little stunt so if it fits…"

The man fired his weapon, the bullet passing inches from Sheppard's head, striking a tree behind him. Sheppard didn't flinch as slivers of bark and wood flew past.

The Big Idiot chuckled, "Don't scare easy, do you? Well, you should be scared because there is no way out of this for you or for the other one. Where is your companion?"

"He's dead; died in the fall he took right before you spotted us."

"Don't believe you. You wouldn't have come to this valley if Woolsey was dead, you would've returned to the cabin to confront me. I know military tactics, colonel. I served in the militia of the Tribes of Santhal as a young man. We were a proud people, colonel, we suffered from the Wraith, as all have, but we survived. However, we could not survive the powerful weapons of the Replicators. You caused the destruction of my people by your interference, and I am going to make you pay, even if the coalition wouldn't."

Sheppard was quick to realize that this man had little to lose; if Big Idiot was from the Tribes of Santhal then he would be an ally of Shiana. He was another person who most likely lost family and friends to the replicators, and blamed Atlantis for their deaths.

"Look, I'm sorry; I really am. We had no idea that the Replicators would harm so many worlds in their fight with the Wraith. We didn't have any idea they would use the destruction of entire planets as a way to destroy the Wraith's feeding ground. When we did realize what was happening, we stopped them; a coalition of people living in this galaxy stopped them."

"Ah, the great and noble Atlantis to the rescue. There would not been a need for rescue if you hadn't interfered to start with. Sit…" He limped toward a rock and motioned for Sheppard to sit down on the ground, aiming his weapon at the colonel's head until he complied. He then sat down carefully on the rock, pain evident in his face. Sheppard suspected he might have a broken leg.

"You asked who I am, colonel; I will tell you. I am Mischen Vangar, personal aide to Coalition Counsel Member Shiana; you remember her, don't you, colonel; you murdered her family as well as mine."

"Shiana is behind this?" Sheppard asked. As Vangar spoke, his eyes would drift away from Sheppard and the colonel used the opportunity to seize a large, heavy stone that had been lying next to his right hand.

"Actually no, she isn't; she knows nothing of this, but if I am captured, I will tell everyone that she was the mastermind. They would never believe me; since my family died, I have played shall we say dumb, the idiot you like to call me. People believe that the grief from losing my family affected me, and I am no longer the man I was. I wanted everyone to believe that, colonel; for how else could I fool anyone into thinking I couldn't actually pull off kidnapping the two most powerful men in Pegasus."

"So, you did this all on your own? That _is _a surprise."

"Insults can get you killed, colonel. Oh, yes, that's right; you're going to die anyway, so insult me all you like." Vangar shifted his weight on the rock, moaning as he moved his right leg.

"I was an important man on Santhal; a merchant, a highly successful merchant and a tribal leader. I shared my life with my beautiful wife, Laedre; two handsome sons, Joseres and Geoja, who were going to inherit my business one day, and a beautiful young daughter, Veleze. Then on that horrid day, the Replicators came, sending a white beam of light from the sky, and in an instant, all we knew was gone. Our only chance of escape was through the Ring of the Ancestors." He paused; he was having difficulty continuing.

"We were almost to the Ring when one of my sons fell, his brother ran back to help him, my wife and my daughter stopped to wait for them. I stopped a few feet away from them, but before I could get to them, the beam swept across them. I watched them disintegrate into nothing. Shiana was standing next to me; her husband and children died in the same beam. I pulled her through the Ring of the Ancestors to safety. But neither of us really wishes to be alive. "

He closed his eyes for a brief second as the memories flooded over him like the rain. When he opened his eyes, he glared at Sheppard with a look of pure venom.

"You are going to die, colonel. You are going to die now."

Vangar raised his weapon, a Genii pistol, but he did not see that Sheppard had the stone hidden in his hand. As he aimed, Sheppard threw the stone, hitting Vangar in the forehead; Vangar's gun fired before he fell backward over the large rock where he had been sitting.

As he released the stone, Sheppard rolled away from the clearing, intending to take cover behind the large rocks to his left. He had almost succeeded when the bullet from Vangar's gun tore across his side. The burning pain consumed him for a moment, but slowly he began to focus again. When his vision cleared, he saw that Vangar was struggling to his feet.

Pulling himself up, Sheppard turned to run but didn't see the flat rim along a shallow gully and he tripped, rolling about ten feet before coming to a stop. As he opened his eyes, he could see his 9-mil lying next to him, and reached for it, but it was just past his fingertips. He started to crawl over to it when he heard a gun hammer cock again.

"Slippery, yes, you are but not slippery enough. Now, finally, you will die, Colonel Sheppard. You pay for the lives of my family."

Sheppard was trying to determine if he could reach his gun before Vangar pulled the trigger when he heard Vangar utter a strange sound. As he looked at the man's face, Sheppard thought Vangar looked more perplexed than surprised as he fell to the ground.

Sheppard was also a bit perplexed until Vangar fell revealing, with bloody knife in hand, Atlantis Director Richard Woolsey. As he attempted to regain his voice to say something witty to Woolsey, who had just saved his life, movement on the ground caught his eye; Vangar wasn't dead. Sheppard rolled, picked up his gun, and fired. Vangar's arm holding the weapon dropped back to the ground, and this time he didn't move again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: Into the Rain**

**Author: **stella_pegasi

**Rating: **K+ Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure, Friendship

**Word Count: **19,474

**Spoilers: **_The Return I & II, Inquisition_ (Story set after Season Five)

**Warnings:** Whump

**Characters:** John Sheppard, Richard Woolsey, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them; I would have treated them better.

**Summary:** Sheppard and Woolsey attend a Pegasus Coalition Council Meeting but a contentious meeting is the least of their troubles, someone wants them dead.

**Notes: **Written as a pinch-hitter for the Easter 2010 Fiction Exchange on _sgahcchallenges_ on LiveJournal. Prompt by _x_erikah_x_ and is located at the end of Chapter Five.

**Into the Rain **

_By stella_pegasi_

**Chapter Five Clear Skies**

"What the hell do you mean we can't go after them tonight?" Rodney was yelling at Major Lorne, who looked exasperated with Dr. McKay, as though they had already had this argument; and they had already had this argument, not ten minutes before. Lorne shook his head from side to side to make his point.

"Damn it, I'll take one of the jumpers myself, and go find them. Get out of my way, captain." Rodney tried to push past Captain Waters; but the taller captain, who had moved to block the doorway during round one of this argument, wouldn't budge this time either.

"Get this grunt out of my way, Lorne. I am going to go get Sheppard and Woosley; I don't care what you say." Rodney's anger was palpable, his face was flushed a deep red, and he was trembling as he glared at Lorne. Lorne continued to shake his head no.

"Rodney, please, Major Lorne is correct. These are very dangerous storms headed toward the city. Kelore told us that the storms will intensify greatly now that they are crossing the hot plains from the cooler air in the mountains. We must allow the storms to pass before we attempt to find the colonel and Mr. Woosley; the winds will be too strong for the jumpers to fly safely."

"Damn it, Teyla; we have to find them. They're depending on us." Rodney's bright blue eyes were pleading with her.

"Rodney, you know John would order us not to go out in this storm; he would be displeased if we placed anyone else in harm's way. We must wait until Major Lorne says it is safe."

Rodney glanced over at Ronon who appeared just as angry as he was; the big guy just wasn't creating a fuss like he was. Looking back at Teyla he nodded that he understood and then walked over to the conference room window to watch the storm. Enormous bolts of white and violet lighting were streaking across the sky illuminating the entire city. As the rumbling of the thunder and high wind reached his ears, Rodney was depressed; this was going to be a very long night.

* * *

Struggling to his feet, Sheppard first looked for Woolsey who had vanished from his line of sight. He breathed a bit easier when he realized the director had made make his way to a rock and was sitting, leaning against a tree.

Sheppard cautiously approached the rocks where Vangar's body lay motionless. Blood flowing from the gunshot wound to his head was mixing with the light rainfall, and tiny rivulets, dyed pale red, were running along the cracks in the rocks. Kicking the gun from Vangar's hand, he knelt down to feel for a pulse. There wasn't one.

As he straightened up, burning pain flared along his right side, reminding him he had taken fire from Vangar's gun. He staggered over to the rock that Woolsey was sitting on, and eased down next to the director. Taking a quick peek at his side, he gave a little sigh of relief to see that the wound was more of a deep graze, and wasn't bleeding badly.

"Hey, buddy. You, OK?" He lightly pressed his shoulder against Woolsey's to see if he could get a response.

"Is…it ov'r?" Woolsey's voice was weak.

"Yeah…Richard, it's over…uh...except for us…getting out of here." Sheppard reach down to grab Woolsey's wrist, his pulse was rapid and weak. Sheppard was concerned that Woolsey was bleeding internally, and he needed to get the director medical care as quickly as possible. He didn't think the Daedalus wouldn't arrive in time. The ship Vangar possessed had to be nearby, but he couldn't bring it to Woolsey; Woolsey would have to go to the ship.

"Richard, Vangar's airship is parked somewhere nearby; we need to find it. I am going back to the cave before it gets completely dark to get the pack, you stay here." Woolsey nodded slightly.

Sheppard headed toward the cave in the dimming light. By the time he reached the cave opening, the rain had ended. He made quick work of gathering up the few belongings they had left there, and policing the area before returning to Woolsey.

"Richard!" Sheppard's heart started racing as he approached the director, who was now lying on the ground, a few feet from the rock he had been sitting on. Reaching him, Sheppard dropped to his knees without registering the pain that radiated through his injured thigh, and felt for Woolsey's pulse. He sat back on his heels when he found a heartbeat, rapid and weak like before, but present.

Woolsey reached up to Sheppard, a small device resting in his palm, "Saw this…next…to body. Blinking…thought…thought it…might be 'portant."

Sheppard pulled the small flashlight out, flicked on the beam, and took a close look at the device. It was smaller than an Ancient scanner, black in color; the top consisted of a small screen along one side and buttons along the other side. The screen showed a small, green blinking cursor; on a hunch, Sheppard started moving the device around, and the little green blinking light moved. Sheppard smiled and patted Woolsey on the head.

"Richard Woolsey, you may have just saved our lives by finding this little device. I think this little jewel is giving the location of Vangar's ship. I hate to do this to you, but we need to go now. We both need medical treatment, and we can't wait for the Daedalus to arrive and find us. I don't know how far away the ship is, but it has to be parked in a valley, so no more climbing."

"No…climbing?" Woolsey asked.

Sheppard answered, "No more climbing, I hope."

Woolsey replied, "Piece...uh...of…cake."

Sheppard laughed softly at this man who continued to amaze him, slipped the rucksack on his back, the night vision goggles on his head, and the device in his pocket. He bent down to get a grip on Woolsey and helped him up. Once he had Woolsey somewhat secure, he pulled the device back out, got his bearings and told Woolsey, "Let's go home."

* * *

The storms over Latira City were far worse than Kelore had suggested they might be. The city's rudimentary electrical system collapsed after several lighting strikes on the main power grid. Flash flooding was occurring all over the city, and the storms were producing numerous tornados and wind shears over the entire area. Cloistered in the conference room, the Atlantis contingent was waiting out the storm.

Dr. Rodney McKay was getting claustrophobic. "Did we have to close those shutters?" McKay was pacing again, which was difficult; nearly thirty people, all the Marines and SGA-1, were in the room.

"The Latiran who closed the shutters suggested that it would be safer since we are on the west side of the building, and the storms are coming from that direction. From the sound of that wind, and the reports we are hearing, these storms are vicious; there is a lot of damage out there." Lorne was trying to keep McKay calm, but he wasn't having a great deal of success.

"McKay, sit. Eat." Ronon pointed to the chair next to his.

"Rodney," Teyla grabbed him by the arm, steering him to the chair, "Ronon is right, you need to eat. We do not wish for you to become sick from not eating when you should."

"Well…yeah…you're right,...uh...I should eat." He sat down, asking Ronon, "Are those any good?" as he reached for a roll stuffed with meat. The Latirans had provided a abundant array of food and drink for the Atlantians while they waited out the storm.

Teyla smiled at Rodney's ability to eat even when he was extremely stressed. She was standing next to Lorne, and asked him, "Do you have an idea when the storms will clear?"

"Captains Isaacs and Waters went to the government command center about fifteen minutes ago, they received weather and local conditions update. The worst should be over in about two hours; we should be able to get jumpers in the air then."

Before Teyla could comment, the door opened and Kelore entered. "Ms. Emmagan, Major Lorne, may I speak to you, along with Dr. McKay and Mr. Dex?"

"Of, course." She motioned for McKay and Ronon to join them, and they went into the hallway with Kelore.

"I wanted to inform you of the latest developments now, for once the storms subside, we will both be busy with our own missions. Of course, should you need assistance searching for Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard, we will do what we can, but we will have our hands full with the severe storm damage."

Teyla nodded her thanks, "We would appreciate the help, if necessary. Of course, Atlantis will be more than willing to help Latira with whatever resources we can provide."

"Thank you. I just came from meeting with Shiana; she has agreed to withdraw her proposal for the Genii to assume the security of the galaxy. She admitted to having private discussions with Radim of the Genii, and to making 'arrangements' with other council members, as well. We will be addressing those governments and what is expected of them in the future."

"You gonna charge Shiana with anything?" Ronon asked.

"Mr. Dex, no; we decided that the stability of this very new coalition is too tenuous to subject it to this kind of crisis. And, as we are convinced that she did not know about Vangar's crime, if he is, in fact, the person behind the kidnappings, there is no reason to charge her."

Major Lorne, "I believe that Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard would agree with that decision, sir."

"One other thing, Chair Dimas has spoken with Ladon Radim of the Genii. Dimas informed him that the council is aware of the actions of the Genii to undermine the council's authority by forming a covert relationship with other members. Radim was also informed that the council will issue a unanimous statement of support for continuing the relationship that we currently enjoy with Atlantis."

"I believe I can speak for all of us, Kelore, in saying that Atlantis will be pleased to continue to assist the coalition in any way we can." Lorne replied.

"Good; now, please let us know if we can help with your search for the colonel and Mr. Woolsey. I will be in the command center should you need me." Kelore took his leave of the Atlantians, who returned to the conference room to wait for the skies to clear.

* * *

Darkness had completely engulfed them for the first half-hour of their trek though the valleys. Then the clouds parted, and two of the three Latiran moons bathed the mountain in an eerie silver glow. Sheppard was glad for the extra light; keeping steady footing for himself and for Woolsey was a slow and tiring process. The extra light helped him make quicker choices of where to step.

"Woolsey, you hanging in there?"

"I'm here…not good." He sounded as exhausted, as Sheppard knew he had to be, but Sheppard also knew that he needed to keep him alert.

"We're getting close to the ship. I think another thirty minutes or so and...uh... we should be there." Actually, Sheppard thought they were about an hour away at the rate they were progressing, but he didn't want to tell Woolsey that piece of information. He didn't want his left thigh, which was given him serious grief, to know how much longer they had to walk either.

"So, how did you know to come help me? I'd be dead if you hadn't shown up."

"Heard shots… then later…heard…more." He stopped, catching his breath. "Heard voices…uh...figured…you might need…help. Couldn't…stay…cave and not…help."

"Richard, thanks. You saved my life."

They walked for nearly forty minutes more when the blinking light on the sensor told Sheppard that the ship was close. Looking through the pale moonlight, he thought he could see a dark shape. His only thought, "Please, let that be the ship."

Looking around for a place to sit Woolsey down, he spotted a log. "Richard, I think the ship is ahead. I want you to sit here for a minute, and let me check it out."

"Sit…good." Sheppard got him settled and headed for the ship.

As he walked up to the ship, he started playing with the buttons on the device. He was able to pull up the main menu, and within seconds, he had the hatch unlocked and the interior lights on. He rushed back to Woolsey.

"Come on, it's the ship, and it's a lot more comfortable inside than out here." He pulled Woolsey up and managed to get him the last twenty yards, and up the narrow steps into the small ship.

The ship had two padded chairs in the tiny cockpit area, and a short bench one side. Freight containers made up the rest of the ship, which was about two-thirds the size of a jumper. Sheppard sat Woolsey down in the right front seat and strapped him in as securely as he felt he could with the director's injuries, and then sat down in the pilot's seat.

"OK, let's see what we've got here." Running through the gauges and dials he became familiar with the controls, and was pleased at finding that not only was there was a navigation system but also a radio. Checking the last heading on the nav system, Sheppard decided to simply return on the same heading Vangar has followed to the mountains. He thought it was a fairly safe bet that heading would take them to Latira City.

"Mr. Woolsey, we're taking off. Should be back in the city soon." He thought he heard Woolsey say 'good', but he thought it could have been 'go.' Which ever it was, John Sheppard thought go was the better choice. He gave the little ship power and headed for the clear, moonlit sky.

* * *

The six Atlantian jumpers had been in the air for almost a half hour, and were flying a spread formation toward the mountains. Lorne wanted to be certain that they covered as much area as they could; he didn't want Vangar's ship to slip past them, returning to the city. There wasn't a lot of chatter over the radio; the teams were aware that the storms they had suffered through in the city had been raging in these mountains. With their lost team members unprotected from the elements, they all shared an unspoken concern about Sheppard and Woolsey's safety.

Lorne was about to give Sheppard's team an update on their ETA to the mountain range when Lt. Salem's voice came through the COM. "Major Lorne, we have a bogey coming toward us." Lorne brought up the HUD and spotted the ship on sensors.

"Dr. McKay, isn't that the energy trace we were looking for?" Lorne looked at McKay, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, and nodded to the signal blinking on the HUD.

"Yes, it is, major."

Lorne tapped the COM, "All jumpers converge on the coordinates that Lt. Salem is sending you, and surround that ship. Do not open fire on that ship; I repeat, do not fire on that ship, our people could be on board."

Inside the smaller ship, a simple sensor system popped on, and Sheppard saw six blips coming directly toward him at a fast rate. From the speed they were traveling, Sheppard had a fairly good idea who might be inside those ships. He checked to make certain that power was getting to his communications systems.

Within a few minutes, the jumpers had the small ship surrounded. Sheppard opened a channel on the radio, and he heard a familiar voice fill the cockpit, Major Lorne's.

"Unidentified craft, this is Major Lorne of Atlantis; you are surrounded. Please follow us and land at the coordinates being transmitting to you. This is your only warning."

Sheppard grinned; Lorne was pretty darn good at sounding quite formidable. The colonel knew for a fact that the major could back up his tough words with tough actions, as well.

"Major, if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to put this little ship down in Latira City. Mr. Woolsey and I were just taking her out for a spin, but we need to get back to work."

When the teams recognized Colonel Sheppard's voice, shouts of Oo-rah and cheers came through the com system inside the jumpers, and into the cockpit of the small ship. Lorne was grinning, as he replied, "Colonel, we were worried about you and Mr. Woolsey, sir. A lot of people here are happy to hear your voice. We thought we were coming to save you, sir, but doesn't appear you two needed our help."

"Major, what we need is medical care; Woolsey's suffered some serious injuries, broken arm, ribs, head injury, maybe internal injuries."

Teyla interjected, "And you, colonel?"

"Oh, the usual, gunshot wound to left upper thigh, and right side, just a graze, various scrapes and bruises."

Ronon asked, "And the bad guy?"

Sheppard quietly answered, "Dead."

Lorne barked out orders, "Salem, Isaacs get back to the city ASAP. Salem contact Atlantis; get Dr. Beckett and a med team in the city by the time we arrive there. Isaacs let Kelore know that we are returning to the city with the colonel and Mr. Woolsey; and that their kidnapper is dead. Tell Kelore that Atlantis is prepared to assist the Latirans with search and rescue and clean up. I want you to coordinating teams from Atlantis."

"Colonel, the rest of us will escort you back to the city. And colonel, the next time you need help getting rescued, just let us know."

"Will do, major."

Woolsey stirred, mumbling something. Sheppard glanced over at him, "Almost home, Richard. We will soon be in the infirmary covered with warm, dry blankets; pretty nurses taking special care of us. With Beckett covering for Keller while she is back at the SGC, we will get by with my team sneaking us good food and games and stuff. Beckett's a pushover compared to Keller. Rest, we have a nice night, with clear skies, for flying. We're finally out of the rain."

_The end._

I was pleased to be asked to pinch hit for the exchange and write a story based on x_erikah_x's prompt. I may have included the other characters a bit more prominently than she might have wanted, but I tried to provide the whump to the two characters that she requested. Hope x_erikah_x and you enjoy.

**For x-erikah-x:**

Character(s) I want in the fic: Sheppard with Woolsey OR Sheppard with Lorne OR Sheppard with Rodney, *in this order of preference* - other characters can appear but a lot less and not as main focus of the scenes. I'd like one to be more whumped than the other, but I have no preference on which one. Either having Shep being protected or being protective is a major like.  
My likes: Any of these: angst, torture, friendship, bleeding wounds, prison, dark fics, offworld setting, military Shep, Sheppard in protective mode, the other person having to step up and protect Shep when time comes. I'm pretty easy to please, but please, some physical hurt AND angst is a must. I put a large list of likes, but only one or two of this is enough to make me really happy. I'd love some plotty h/c.  
My squicks: non-con, unhappy endings, deathfic  
My request: I'd like only the two characters of the ones mentioned above and not the team. One nasty bad guy. The pair fighting for survival, maybe torture (not a must) and escape on their own. When rescue arrives, they have pretty much solved the situation themselves. Infirmary scene at the end with Carson (the clone is not a problem) and an emotional resolution.


End file.
